Throughout the whole of industry, seals and sealing technology encompass wide and diverse applications. These range from the mundane joining of plastic pipes in household plumbing, through a host of uses in the civil engineering and automotive industries to high tech critical uses in aerospace applications. With seals used in situations where failure can be not only unwanted but often catastrophic, a thorough understanding of polymeric seals is vital. Choice of the correct material from the vast array available can be a daunting task for the designer. They must have detailed knowledge of all aspects from how the seal is to be used, what temperature extremes are likely to be encountered, the expected service life of the seal and its associated product and the cost of manufacturing the seal, to how the seal is to be fitted. If one or more of these factors are not considered then failure of the seal is highly possible.

In this Rapra Review Report John Hickman surveys the main types of seal, static and dynamic as well as those with more specific applications such as pneumatic and diaphragm seals. He then goes on to look at seal manufacture and the range of polymeric materials available for use in seal design from natural rubber and EPM to fluorosilicone rubbers and PTFE, providing data on their maximum and minimum usage temperatures. Some highly specific applications of seals are reviewed such as in EMI/RFI shielding and suspension units and he describes seal failure modes in static and o-ring seals. Note. Continuous sealing profiles e.g. weatherstripping are not included in this review.

This review is supported by an extensive bibliography compiled from the Polymer Library.